Iowa Completes Brutal First Half vs UCLA

The Iowa Hawkeyes should consider themselves fortunate that their game against the UCLA Bruins is as close as it is.

Nov 8, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Brendan Sullivan (1) warms up prior to the game against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes got off to a great start against the UCLA Bruins on Friday night, but it didn't take long for things to stagnate.

After intercepting UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers a couple of times, resulting in Iowa jumping out to a 10-0 lead, the Hawkeyes allowed 17 unanswered points themselves, resulting in a seven-point deficit at the half.

Luckily for Iowa, Garbers fumbled into the end zone on UCLA's second to last drive of the half, and the Hawkeyes recovered the ball for a touchback. So, things could have been much worse.

But while the Hawkeyes' defense certainly made some magic happen in the first half, collecting three turnovers, this is not the way Iowa was hoping to perform against UCLA.

Brendan Sullivan went 5-for-7 with 138 yards and an interception, and Kaleb Johnson carried the ball nine times for just 31 yards and a touchdown.

The Hawkeyes' offense was certainly looking better with Sullivan under center rather than Cade McNamara over the past couple of weeks, but it's not exactly like Sullivan was throwing the football incredibly well against Northwestern and Wisconsin.

Sullivan had been making plays happen with his legs, but that wasn't really available for the signal-caller over the first 30 minutes versus UCLA.

The Bruins also dominated possession, running 43 plays compared to 22 for the Hawkeyes.

Perhaps in a way, Iowa is fortunate that the game is as close as it is heading into the half, because a better opponent probably would have buried the Hawkeyes.

We'll see if Iowa, which has already turned the ball over twice, can turn things around in the second half.